Markey, 42 Dems Urge President to Protect Dolphin-Safe Tuna Label

Misguided WTO Ruling Puts Dolphins at Risk, Misleads Consumers

WASHINGTON (May 31, 2012) – Today Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and 42 other Democratic members of Congress delivered a letter to President Barack Obama, urging the President to defend a U.S. law that has stopped the slaughter of millions of dolphins in the Pacific Ocean.

 In the letter, available HERE, Markey and his colleagues note that the extremely successful dolphin-safe labeling regime is not trade restrictive because it is voluntary: Mexico can still export canned tuna to the U.S., it simply cannot use the dolphin-safe label if the fish were captured using a technique that harms dolphins. They also contend that the science-based standards have been proven to serve a legitimate conservation purpose.